1. Linda�s husband, Chuck, had a tumor removed form his bladder last week. It was malignant, stage 3 cancer. Apparently it was only in one place, though, so they are going to let him heal for three months before they test him again. What happens thereafter will depend on the results of those tests.

2. Sondra and Lou are fighting, to the point where she has been staying with my parents for the last few days. Meanwhile, I have to go see Lou�s band tomorrow night whether she goes or not because Jody and some of her friends are expecting me to be there and I don�t want to flake on her. I rarely get to see Jody as it is. Well, plus there is the Hunky Drummer factor but frankly if it weren�t for Jody I wouldn�t go if it turns out Sondra isn�t going. It remains to be seen whether Barbara and Cathy go or not because it turns out the band will be having another gig much closer to home in two weeks.

3. The trip I had planned to go to Santa Fe with Linda, Cathy, Barbara and Arnett at the end of April has to be postponed for a week because Arnett made arrangements for a child-support hearing for the same week and now that can�t be postponed. I hate to be sexist, but it seems that men have a serious problem when it comes to remembering schedules. I�m just glad I hadn�t purchased plane tickets yet. Everything else is relatively-easy to reschedule.

4. Chris got a DUI. So here�s the thing�as I may have mentioned before in these pages, Abby and Chris were going to go to Europe to bum around for a month; then Larry and Peg were going to meet up with them in Spain and they�d have a family-vacation there. So now, Chris and Abby aren�t going to bum around Europe for a month�but Larry and Peg are still taking them all to Spain.

5. When you look up the word �Enabler� in the Dictionary, you will see a photograph of Larry and Peggy. Someone tell me who I need to see in order to be adopted by people who will reward my drug habit by taking me to Spain.

So in other news�while I am pleased as punch that Catie was kicked off the Best Show Ever this week�well, I would really rather it have been Camille who is just plain wacky. And delusional in her wackiness, to boot. Plus, she is not anywhere near as attractive as the rest of the gang and so if she is not kicked off next week, I will�well, I don�t know what I will actually do, but I�ll be very, very upset. Because everybody else actually deserves to be on that show.

And while we�re on the topic of reality shows�in all of my obsession over these programs, do you know that I never watched Survivor? Well, that is, until this season�s Survivor All-Stars. I�m pleased to note that so far nobody has had to eat strange bugs or body parts of cows that we don�t even want to know exist, let alone put in our mouths. Richard Hatch has bitten a shark. But then, the shark bit him first, so who can blame him?

I do like the show, but really I mainly started watching because there is nothing on television on Thursday nights (as evidenced by the fact that I was asleep before 10:00pm last night). I will say, I think Jerri must have gotten a bad rap previously; or she has grown up a lot since her initial show, on which she was labeled as �The Bitch.� I find her to be quite the opposite, although she seems to be a strong, smart, opinionated and capable woman, which in many circles gets you called a bitch anyway. Not that I speak from personal experience or anything. *ahem*

In regard to �them crazy folks who climb Mt. Everest�: I had to call in sick to work on Wednesday. I tried to come in, but discovered I had a fever of 102, so thought better of it. So anyway, during the probably three hours I was awake all day, I managed to watch a documentary on the National Geographic Channel (love that channel!) about climbing Mt. Everest. Specifically, I watched Surviving Everest.

Now, some of you may know of my Everest-obsession. I think this show may have done much to cure me of said-obsession. Well, truthfully, it hasn�t, but it did make the climb appear terribly scary. They did a great job at showing just how razor-thin the ridge is from the second summit to the Hillary Step and that if you take one false step, you fall down the side and you are dead. And you do this while you�re all weirded out from having spent weeks without sufficient oxygen so really, walking down the street would probably be a chore.

Eyah. Good times.

And for something completely different, I bought a new fish. It�s a Betta fish � you know, those �Japanese Fighting Fish�. They have to live in their tanks alone because otherwise they�ll kill whatever you have in there with them. I had to order a new snail for my frog, Oscar�s, tank because apparently he is going to live forever and his snails died so his tank was getting algae-fied far too quickly. So since I was ordering a new snail, I went ahead and ordered a new fish and tank. I�ve been wanting one anyway. :) My Betta�s name is George. He�s really pretty � he�s blue.

Of course, I really don�t know if he�s a �he.�

Guess that�s all the news in my little world. Hasta, kids!

~~~

Auto Mileage Standards Up in Smoke, Again

Sending a February Valentine to the auto industry, President Bush has extended for another four years a policy that enables carmakers to build less fuel-efficient vehicles while pretending to conserve oil. The auto manufacturers have been more than happy to exploit the loophole, much as they skirt CAFE standards (requiring a minimum number of miles per gallon) by pretending that gas-guzzling SUVs and minivans are light trucks.

In effect since the late 1980s, the rule permits auto companies to manufacture cars that can run on either gasoline or ethanol. To burn ethanol, cars must be fitted with corrosion-resistant fuel lines and tanks, modified fuel injectors, special fuel sensors, and other features.[1]

The cost of the modifications per vehicle comes to about $300, an expense paid by the auto companies, not consumers.[2] GM, Ford, and the other manufacturers are handsomely rewarded, however. By manufacturing these "dual-fueled vehicles" they get credits toward meeting CAFE standards for their entire fleet. In effect, the credits enable them reduce fuel economy for the millions of other cars they sell.

If the policy worked as intended, this might possibly be a net plus for the environment, since the policy was designed to encourage the use of ethanol over oil (experts are divided on the relative merits of ethanol). But the dual-fueled vehicles, while capable of running on ethanol, rarely do. Less than one percent of the fuel burned by the three million dual-fueled vehicles on the road is ethanol.[3]

In most places, running a car on ethanol is simply impractical. There are only 180 ethanol refueling stations in the entire country, and 24 states have no refueling stations at all.[4] The policy has become merely a device enabling the automakers to dodge laws designed to require them to build cars that get better mileage.

The Bush Administration's extension of the dual fuel loophole, according to the American Council for an Energy Efficient Economy (ACEEE), means the U.S. will consume an extra 40-110 million barrels of oil from 2005-2008.[5]

"It's like putting an extra half-million new cars on the road each year," said Therese Langer, director of ACEEE's Transportation Program. "This move helps to ensure that our reliance on oil imports will continue to rise."

TAKE ACTION!

Sign this petition urging the U.S. government to raise CAFE standards and lessen our dependence on foreign oil.

###

SOURCES:

[1] Ethanol Vehicle Coalition, 2003 E85 Purchasing Guide.

[2] Ford representative cited in the Minneapolis Star Tribune, July 7, 2000.

[3] ACEEE press release, February 18, 2004.

[4] "Reforming Dual-Fueled Vehicle CAFE Credits," Therese Langer, ACEEE, October 2003.

[5] ACEEE press release, op.cit.

~~~

Word of the Day for Friday February 20, 2004

avatar AV-uh-tar, noun:

1. The incarnation of a deity -- chiefly associated in Hinduism with the incarnations of Vishnu.

2. An embodiment, as of a quality, concept, philosophy, or tradition; an archetype.

3. A temporary manifestation or aspect of a continuing entity.

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~~~~~~~~~~~peace, love and smooches~~~~~~~~~~~~~


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